Pressured by the Ojibwe and Cree peoples (the Iron Confederacy), who had earlier and better access to guns through the fur trade, they had migrated there from the Ohio Eastern Woodland area to settle south of Lake Winnipeg, Canada. From there, they were pushed to the west by the Cheyennes. Both the Crow and the Cheyennes were then pushed farther west by the Lakota (Sioux), who took over the territory from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Big Horn Mountains of Montana; the Cheyennes finally became close allies of the Sioux, but the Crows remained bitter enemies of both Sioux and Cheyennes. The Crow were generally friendly with the whites and managed to retain a large reservation of over 9300 km2 despite territorial losses.[citation needed]

The name of the tribe, Apsáalooke [ə̀ˈpsáːɾòːɡè], meaning "children of the large-beaked bird",[1] was given to them by the Hidatsa, a neighboring Siouan tribe. French interpreters translated the name as gens du corbeaux ("people of [the] crows"), and they became known in English as the Crow. Other tribes also refer to the Apsáalooke as "crow" or "raven" in their own languages.[2]

In 1743 the Absaroka encountered their first people of European descent, the two La Vérendrye brothers from New France. The explorers called the Apsáalooke beaux hommes (handsome men). The Crow called the French explorers baashchíile (persons with yellow eyes).

The early home of the Crow-Hidatsa ancestral tribe was in the Ohio country, near Lake Erie. Driven from there by better armed, aggressive neighbors, they settled for a while south of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.[3] Later the people moved to the Devil's Lake region of North Dakota before the Crow split from the Hidatsa and moved westward. The Crow were largely pushed westward due to intrusion and influx of the Cheyenne subsequently the Sioux.

To acquire control of their new home, they warred against Shoshone bands (called Bikkaashe—"People of the Grass Lodges"),[4] and drove them westward. They allied with local Kiowa and Kiowa Apache bands.[5][6][7] The Kiowa and Kiowa Apache bands later migrated southward, and the Crow remained dominant in their established area through the 18th and 19th centuries, the era of the fur trade.

Once established in the Valley of the Yellowstone River[9] and its tributaries on the Northern Plains in Montana and Wyoming, the Crow divided into four groups: the Mountain Crow, River Crow, Kicked in the Bellies and Beaver Dries its Fur. Formerly semi-nomad hunters and farmers in the northeastern woodland, they picked up the nomadic lifestyle of the Plains Indians as hunters and gatherers and hunted bison. Before 1700, they were using dog travois for carrying goods. They obtained horses from the Spanish.[10][11]

Ledger drawing of a Cheyenne war chief and warriors (left) coming to a truce with a Crow war chief and warriors (right)

A scout on a horse, 1908

From about 1740, the Plains tribes rapidly adopted the horse, which allowed them to move out on to the Plains and hunt buffalo more actively. However, the severe winters in the North kept their herds smaller than those of Plains tribes in the South. The Crow, Hidatsa, Eastern Shoshone and Northern Shoshone soon became noted as horse breeders and dealers, and developed relatively large horse herds. At the time, other eastern and northern tribes were also moving on to the Plains, in search of game for the fur trade, bison, and more horses. The Crow were subject to raids and horse thefts by horse-poor tribes including the powerful Blackfoot Confederacy, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Pawnee, and Ute.[12][13] Later they had to face the Lakota and their allies, the Arapaho and Cheyenne, who also stole horses from their enemies. Their greatest enemies became the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho alliance.

The Apsaalooke by the early 19th century were divided into three independent groupings, who came together only for common defense:[citation needed]

Ashalaho (‘Many Lodges’, today called Mountain Crow), Awaxaawaxammilaxpáake (‘Mountain People’) or Ashkúale (‘The Center Camp’). The Ashalaho or Mountain Crow, the largest Crow group, split from the Awatixa Hidatsa and were the first to travel west. (McCleary 1997: 2-3)., (Bowers 1992: 21) Their leader No Intestines had received a vision and led his band on a long migratory search for sacred tobacco, finally settling in southeastern Montana. They lived in the Rocky Mountains and foothills on the present-day Wyoming-Montana border along the Upper Yellowstone River, in the Big Horn and Absaroka Range (also Absalaga Mountains) with the Black Hills comprising the eastern edge of their territory.

Binnéessiippeele (‘Those Who Live Amongst the River Banks’), today called River Crow or Ashshipíte (‘The Black Lodges’) The Binnéessiippeele, or River Crow, split from the Hidatsa proper, according to tradition because of a dispute over a bison stomach. As a result, the Hidatsa called the Crow Gixáa-iccá—"Those Who Pout Over Tripe".[14][15] They lived along the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers south of the Missouri River and in the river valleys of the Big Horn, Powder and Wind rivers, (historically known as the Powder River Country), sometimes traveling north up to the Milk River.

Eelalapito (Kicked In The Bellies) or Ammitaalasshé (‘Home Away From The Center’, that is, away from the Ashkúale - Mountain Crow).[16][17] They claimed the area known as the Bighorn Basin, from the Bighorn Mountains in the east to the Absaroka Range to the west, and south to the Wind River Range in northern Wyoming. Sometimes they settled in the Owl Creek Mountains, Bridger Mountains and along the Sweetwater River in the south.[18]

The oral tradition of the Apsaalooke mentions a fourth group, the Bilapiluutche (‘Beaver Dries its Fur’), who are believed to have merged with the Kiowa in the second half of the eighteenth century.

When white Americans arrived in numbers, the Crows were resisting heavy pressure from enemies who greatly outnumbered them. In the 1850s, a vision by Plenty Coups, a Crow boy who later became their greatest chief, was interpreted by tribal elders as meaning that the whites would become dominant over the entire country, and that the Crows, if they were to retain any of their land, would need to remain on good terms with the whites.[19]

By 1851 the more numerous Lakota and Cheyenne were established just to the south and east of Crow territory in Montana.[20] These enemy tribes coveted the hunting lands of the Crow and warred against them. By right of conquest, they took over the eastern hunting lands of the Crow, including the Powder and Tongue River valleys, and pushed the less numerous Crow to the west and northwest upriver on the Yellowstone. After about 1860, the Lakota Sioux claimed all the former Crow lands from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Big Horn Mountains of Montana. They demanded that the Americans deal with them regarding any intrusion into these areas.

Red Cloud's War (1866–1868) was a challenge by the Lakota Sioux to the United States military presence on the Bozeman Trail, a route along the eastern edge of the Big Horn Mountains to the Montana gold fields. Red Cloud's War ended with victory for the Lakota Sioux. The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) with the United States confirmed the Lakota control over all the high plains from the Black Hills of the Dakotas westward across the Powder River Basin to the crest of the Big Horn Mountains.[22] Thereafter bands of Lakota Sioux led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and others, along with their Northern Cheyenne allies, hunted and raided throughout the length and breadth of eastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming, which had been for a time ancestral Crow territory.

On June 25, 1876 the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne achieved a major victory over army forces under Colonel George A. Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, but the Great Sioux War (1876–1877) ended in the defeat of the Sioux and their Cheyenne allies. Crow warriors enlisted with the US Army for this war. The Sioux and allies were forced from eastern Montana and Wyoming: some bands fled to Canada, while others suffered forced removal to distant reservations, primarily in present-day Montana and Nebraska west of the Missouri River.

In 1918, the Crow organized a gathering to display their culture, and they invited members of other tribes. The Crow Fair is now celebrated yearly on the third weekend of August, with wide participation from other tribes.[23]

The Oath Apsaroke by Edward S. Curtis depicting Crow men giving a symbolic oath with a bison meat offering on an arrow.

The main food source for the Crow was the American bison which was hunted in a variety of ways. Before the use of horses the bison were hunted on foot and required hunters to stalk close to the bison, often with a wolf-pelt disguise, then pursue the animals quickly on foot before killing them with arrows or lances. The horse allowed the Crow to hunt bison more easily as well as hunt more at one time. Riders would panic the herd into a stampede and shoot the targeted animals with arrows or bullets from horseback or lance them through the heart. In addition to bison the Crow also hunted bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer, elk, bear, and other game. Buffalo meat was often roasted or boiled in a stew with prairie turnips. The rump, tongue, liver, heart, and kidneys all were considered delicacies. Dried bison meat was ground with fat and berries to make pemmican.[24] In addition to meat, wild edibles were gathered and eaten such as elderberries, wild turnip, and Saskatoon berries.

The Crow often hunted bison by utilizing buffalo jumps. "Where Buffaloes are Driven Over Cliffs at Long Ridge" was a favorite spot for meat procurement by the Crow Indians for over a century, from 1700 to around 1870 when modern weapons were introduced.[25] The Crow used this place annually in the autumn, a place of multiple cliffs along a ridge that eventually sloped to the creek. Early in the morning the day of the jump a medicine man would stand on the edge of the upper cliff, facing up the ridge. He would take a pair of bison hindquarters and pointing the feet along the lines of stones he would sing his sacred songs and call upon the Great Spirit to make the operation a success.[25] After this invocation the medicine man would give the two head drivers a pouch of incense.[25] As the two head drivers and their helpers headed up the ridge and the long line of stones they would stop and burn incense on the ground repeating this process four times.[25] The ritual was intended to make the animals come to the line where the incense was burned, then bolt back to the ridge area.[25]

The traditional Crow shelter is the tipi or skin lodge made with bison hides stretched over wooden poles. The Crow are historically known to construct some of the largest tipis. Tipi poles were harvested from the lodgepole pine which acquired its name from its use as support for tipis.[26] Inside the tipi, mattresses and buffalo-hide seats were arranged around the edge, with a fireplace in the center. The smoke from the fire escaped through a hole or smoke-flap in the top of the tipi. At least one entrance hole with collapsible flap allowed entry into the tipi. Often hide paintings adorned the outside and inside of tipis with specific meanings attached to the images. Often specific tipi designs were unique to the individual owner, family, or society that resided in the tipi. Tipis are easily raised and collapsed and are light weight which is ideal for nomadic people like the Crow who move frequently and quickly. Once collapsed the tipi poles are used to create a travois. Travois are a horse pulled frame structure used by plains Indians to carry and pull belongings as well as small children. Many Crow families still own and use the tipi, especially when traveling. The annual Crow Fair has been described as the largest gathering of tipis in the world.

The most widely used form of transportation used by the Crow was the horse. Horses were acquired through raiding and trading with other Plains nations. People of the northern plains like the Crow mostly got their horses from people from the southern plains such as the Comanche and Kiowa who originally got their horses from the Spanish and southwestern Indians such as the various Pueblo people. The Crow had large horse herds which were among the largest owned by Plains Indians; in 1914 they had approximately thirty to forty thousand head. By 1921 the number of mounts had dwindled to just one thousand due to increased raiding from Crow enemies such as Cheyenne, Sioux, and Blackfeet. Like other plains people the horse was central to the Crow economy and were a highly valuable trade item and were frequently stolen from other tribes to gain wealth and prestige as a warrior. The horse allowed the Crow to become powerful and skilled mounted warriors, being able to perform daring maneuvers during battle including hanging underneath a galloping horse and shooting arrows by holding onto its mane. They also had many dogs; one source counted five to six hundred. Dogs were used as guards and pack animals to carry belongings and pull travois. The introduction of horses into Crow society allowed them to pull heavier loads faster, greatly reducing the number of dogs used as pack animals.

The Crow wore clothing distinguished by gender. Women wore dresses made of deer and buffalo skins, decorated with elk teeth or shells. They covered their legs with leggings during winter and their feet with moccasins. Crow women wore their hair in two braids. Male clothing usually consisted of a shirt, trimmed leggings with a belt, a long breechcloth, and moccasins. Robes made from the furred hide of a bison were often worn in winter. Leggings were either made of animal hide which the Crow made for themselves or made of wool which were highly valued trade items made specifically for Indians in Europe. Their hair was worn long, in some cases reaching the ground.[27] The Crow are famous for often wearing their hair into a pompadour which is often coloured white with paint. Crow men were notable for wearing two hair pipes made from beads on both sides of their hair. Men often wore their hair in two braids wrapped in the fur from beavers or otters. Bear grease is used to give shine to hair. Stuffed birds were often worn in the hair of warriors and medicine men. Like other plains Indians the Crow wear feathers from eagles, crows, owls, and other birds in their hair for symbolic reasons. The Crow wear a variety of headdresses including the famous eagle feather headdress, bison scalp headdress with horns and beaded rim, and split horn headdress. The split horn headdress is made from a single bison horn split in half and polished into two nearly identical horns which are attached to a leather cap and decorated with feathers and beadwork. Traditional clothing worn by the Crow is still worn today with varying degrees of regularity.

The Crow People are well known for their intercut beadwork. They adorned basically every aspect of their lives with these beads, giving special attention to ceremonial and ornamental items. Their clothing, horses, cradles, ornamental and ceremonial gear, in addition to leather cases of all shapes, sizes and uses were decorated in beadwork.[28] They gave reverence to the animals they ate by using as much of it as they could. The leather for their clothing, robes and pouches were created from the skin of buffalo, deer and elk. The work was done by the tribeswomen, with some being considered experts and were often sought by the younger, less experienced women for design and symbolic advice.[29] The Crow are an innovative people and are credited with developing their own style of stitch-work for adhering beads. This stitch, which is contemporarily called the over-lay, is even still also known as the "Crow Stitch".[28] In their beadwork, geometric shapes were primarily used with triangles, diamonds and hour-glass structures being the most prevalent. A wide range of colors were utilized by the Crow, but blues and various shades of pink were the most dominantly used. To intensify or to draw out a certain color or shape, they would surround that figure or color in a white outline.[28]

The colors chosen were not just merely used to be aesthetically pleasing, but rather had a deeper symbolic meaning. Pinks represented the various shades of the rising sun with yellow being the East the origin of the sun's arrival.[28] Blues are symbolic of the sky; red represented the setting sun or the West; green symbolizing mother earth, black the slaying of an enemy[29] and white representing clouds, rain or sleet.[28] Although most colors had a common symbolism, each piece's symbolic significance was fairly subjective to its creator, especially when in reference to the individual shapes. One person's triangle might symbolize a teepee, a spear head to a different individual or a range of mountains to yet another. Regardless of the individual significance of each piece, the Crow People give reverence to the land and sky with the symbolic references found in the various colors and shapes found on their ornamental gear and even clothing.[28]

Some of the clothing that the Crow People decorated with beads included robes, vests, pants, shirts, moccasins and various forms of celebratory and ceremonial gear. In addition to creating a connection with the land, from which they are a part, the various shapes and colors reflected one's standing and achievements. For example if a warrior were to slay, wound or disarm an enemy, he would return with a blackened face.[29] The black color would then be incorporated in the clothing of that man, most likely in his war attire. A beaded robe, which was often given to a bride to be, could take over a year to produce and was usually created by the bride's mother-in-law or another female relative-in-law. These robes were often characterized by a series of parallel horizontal lines, usually consisting of light blue. The lines represented the young women's new role as a wife and mother; also the new bride was encouraged to wear the robe at the next ceremonial gathering to symbolize her addition and welcoming to a new family.[28] In modern times the Crow still often decorate their clothing with intricate bead designs for powwow and everyday clothing.

Prior to the 2001 Constitution, the Crow Nation was governed by a 1948 Constitution. The former constitution organized the tribe as a General Council (Tribal Council). The General Council in essence held the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of the government, and was composed of all enrolled members of the Crow Nation, provided that females were 18 years or older and males were 21 or older. The General Council was a direct democracy, comparable to that of ancient Athens.

The Crow Nation, or Crow Tribe of Indians, established a three-branch government at a 2001 Council Meeting. The new government is known as the 2001 Constitution. The General Council remains the governing body of the tribe; however, the powers were distributed to a three-branch government. In theory, the General Council is still the governing body of the Crow Nation, yet in reality the General Council has not convened since the establishment of the 2001 Constitution.

The Executive Branch has four officials. These officials are known as the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Vice-Secretary. The Executive Branch officials are also the officials within the Crow Tribal General Council, which has not met since July 15, 2001. These officials established the 2001 Constitution. The Chairman is Darrin Old Coyote.

The Legislative Branch consists of three members from each district on the Crow Indian Reservation. The Crow Indian Reservation is divided into six districts known as The Valley of the Chiefs, Reno, Black Lodge, Mighty Few, Big Horn, and Pryor Districts. The Valley of the Chiefs District is the largest district by population.

The Judicial Branch consists of all courts established by the Crow Law and Order Code and in accordance with the 2001 Constitution. The Judicial Branch has jurisdiction over all matters defined in the Crow Law and Order Code. The Judicial Branch attempts to be a separate and distinct branch of government from the Legislative and Executive Branches of Crow Tribal Government. The Judicial Branch consists of an elected Chief Judge and two Associate Judges. The Crow Court of Appeals, similar to State Court of Appeals, receives all appeals from the lower courts. The Chief Judge of the Crow Nation is Julie Yarlott.

According to the 1948 Constitution, Resolution 63-01,(Please note; in a letter of communication from Phileo Nash,then Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to the B.I.A. Area Director- as stated in the letter And confirmed that 63-01 is an Ordinance in said letter) all constitutional amendments must be voted on by secret ballot or referendum vote. In 2001, major actions were taken by the former Chairperson Birdinground without complying with those requirements. The quarterly council meeting on July 15, 2001 passed all resolutions by voice vote, including the measure to repeal the current constitution and approve a new constitution. An opposition has arisen to challenge the new constitution's validity. The challenge is now in Crow Tribal Courts awaiting a decision.

Critics contend the new constitution is contrary to the spirit of the Crow Nation, as it provides authority for the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to approve Crow legislation and decisions. The Crow people have guarded their sovereignty and Treaty Rights. The alleged New Constitution was not voted on to add it to the agenda of the Tribal Council. The former constitution mandated that constitutional changes be conducted by referendum vote, using the secret ballot election method and criteria. In addition, a constitutional change can only be conducted in a specially called election, which was never approved by council action for the 2001 Constitution. The agenda was not voted on or accepted at the council.

The only vote taken at the council was whether to conduct the voting by voice vote or walking through the line. Critics say the Chairman ignored and suppressed attempts to discuss the Constitution. This council and constitutional change was never ratified by any subsequent council action. The Tribal Secretary, who was removed from office by the BirdinGround Administration, was the leader of the opposition. All activity occurred without his signature.

When the opposition challenged, citing the violation of the Constitutional Process and the Right to Vote, the Birdinground Administration sought the approval of the United States Department of the Interior (USDOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The latter stated it could not interfere in an internal tribal affair. The federal court also ruled that the constitutional change was an internal tribal matter.[citation needed]

Crow Tribal Council Chairperson Carl Venne and Barack Obama at the presidential campaign rally for Obama on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana on May 19, 2008. Obama was the first presidential candidate to visit the Crow Nation.

Pauline Small on horseback. She carries the flag of the Crow Tribe of Indians. As a tribal official, she is entitled to carry the flag during the Crow Fair Parade.

The seat of government and capital of the Crow Indian Reservation is Crow Agency, Montana.

The Crow Nation has traditionally elected a chairperson of the Crow Tribal Council biennially; however, in 2001, the term of office was extended to four years. The previous chairperson was Carl Venne. The chairperson serves as chief executive officer, speaker of the council, and majority leader of the Crow Tribal Council. The constitutional changes of 2001 created a three-branch government. The chairperson serves as the head of the executive branch, which includes the offices of vice-chairperson, secretary, vice-secretary, and the tribal offices and departments of the Crow Tribal Administration. Notable chairs are Clara Nomee, Edison Real Bird, and Robert "Robie" Yellowtail.

On May 19, 2008, Hartford and Mary Black Eagle of the Crow Nation adopted U.S. Senator (now President) Barack Obama into the tribe on the date of the first visit of a U.S. presidential candidate to the nation.[34] Crow representatives also took part in President Obama's inaugural parade. In 2009 Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow was one of 16 people awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The cover of the popular music album America, which contained the Top Ten song, "Horse With No Name", featured the three group members sitting on the floor in front of a mural of Eight Crows.

The tribe hosts a large pow wow, rodeo, and parade annually; the 86th Crow Fair was held in Crow Agency from August 17–21, 2006. Called Baasaxpilue (to make much noise), it is the largest and most spectacular of Indian celebrations in the northern Plains.[36] The photographer Elsa Spear Byron photographed the Crow Fair from 1911 to the 1950s.

In the documentary Native Spirit and the Sun Dance Way (2007), Thomas Yellowtail, a Crow medicine man and Sun Dance chief for more than 30 years, describes and explains the ancient Sun Dance ceremony, which is sacred to the Crow tribe. In the 1994 film Legends of the Fall, based on the 1979 novella of the same name by Jim Harrison, actor Gordon Tootoosis spoke Yellowtail's words to examine the preservation of a cultural and spiritual world before the coming of European settlers.

The Crow are the main antagonist in the 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson based on the real-life mountain man John Liver-Eating Johnston who, like in the movie, fought against the Crow earning him the nickname "Crow killer". Liver-Eating Johnson later made allies with the Crow as in the film.

^Wishart, David J.. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. 89.

^Letter No. 8George Catlin "...most of them were over six feet high and very many of these have cultivated their natural hair to such an almost incredible length, that it sweeps the ground as they walk; there are frequent instances of this kind amongst them, and in some cases, a foot or more it will drag on the grass as they walk, giving exceeding grace and beauty their movements. They usually oil their Hair with a profusion of bear grease every morning"

^ abcdefgPowell, P (1988). To Honor the Crow People. Chicago: Foundation for the Preservation of American Indian Art and Culture, Inc.

^ abcLowie, R (1922). Crow Indian Art. New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History.

The World of the Crow Indians: As Driftwood Lodges, Rodney Frey, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1987, hardback, ISBN 0-8061-2076-2

Stories That Make the World: Oral Literature of the Indian Peoples of the Inland Northwest. As Told by Lawrence Aripa, Tom Yellowtail and Other Elders. Rodney Frey, edited. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, 1995, paperback, ISBN 0-8061-3131-4